The present invention relates to a diverter pan for placement under a spit rod in a rotisserie for the purpose of collecting and diverting the drippings from food product on the rod and thereby prevent intermingling of the drippings from one rod to the adjacent rods of the rotisserie.
Many commercially available rotisseries include a pair of spaced apart spit wheels that rotate in a heated environment for the purpose of cooking food products. Individual spit rods holding meat, poultry and the like are fitted to and between the peripheral regions of the spit wheels. In some instances the spit wheels include openings in the peripheral regions thereof that receive outwardly projecting pins at opposite ends of the spit rods. One particular rod includes a single axially oriented projecting pin at one end thereof and a pair of similar axially oriented projecting pins at the other end thereof. The single pin may include a bullet shaped end an annular undercut or groove that mates with the spit wheel when the rod is positioned between the wheels.
After the spit rods are loaded with meat, poultry and the like, the single pin at one end thereof with the bullet shaped end is pushed into and through a receiving opening on one of the spit wheels of the rotisserie. Initial insertion is such that the annular groove in that pin moves past the spit wheel. Next, the pair of spaced apart pins at the opposite end of the spit rod are fitted into receiving openings in the other spit wheel. The pair of pins is inserted until the annular groove on the single pin registers with the spit wheel to which it is attached. This three point connection of the spit rod to the spit wheels of the rotisserie prevents any relative movement between the rod and wheels as the wheels rotate during the cooking process. Also, registration of one of the spit wheels with the annular groove of the single pin prevents lateral movement of the rod relative to the wheels.
It has now been proposed to simultaneously cook food products with different seasonings and the like in a commercial rotisserie, but in order to do so it is important to insure that the drippings from the food on one spit rod do not fall onto and intermingle with the differently flavored food on the adjacent spit rods of the rotisserie.